Belonging
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Your mother dies. You feel strongly about having a shiva minyan each night. And yet just as the service is scheduled to start, it becomes obvious that there are not ten Jewish adults in the house. The rabbi quietly makes a phone call and a few moments later, someone you don’t really know slips through the front door.
This is what it means to be part of a shul. You have a rabbi to guide you and people to support you. And in return, you are there for others.
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Frume Sarah is Shabbos-observant -- in a Reform way, that is. Please note that from Friday afternoons until one hour after sundown on Saturday evenings, Frume Sarah will be unavailable, in observance of the Jewish Sabbath.
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Thank you for your understanding...and gut Shabbos!!! 
Frume Sarah's World 
I am part of a shul and am grateful for the community it brings. I will return the Mitzvah and feel honored in doing so. Sam and Congregation B’nai Tzedek are amazing! Thanks from the bottom of my heart.
Community is a two-way proposition. We are blessed by your presence as well.
I live in Chicago. There is a man living near me (who I met for the first time last night) sitting shiva. Three shuls sent emails to their membership asking for people to help make the minyan. About fifteen men trudged through the snow to make sure there was a minyan.
Your presence, along with the other brave souls, allowed him to observe his mitzvah. What a gift you gave to him. Kol HaKavod. And stay safe and warm.
On the other hand, being part of a shul can mean that a hundred show to support you. My father’s unveiling is this Sunday. For years I’ve quietly walked the halls nodding heads, and now it’s been a year of constant wishes for peace. It’s opened my eyes to what a community is.
Absolutely. Community, in large or small numbers, gives us a necessary sense that we matter and that we have a place in this vast world. May Sunday’s unveiling bring a sense of closure to this first year, and may your dad’s memory always be for a blessing.
That is definitely one of the best parts about being a part of a community. It works on other life cycle events as well, which is especially lovely to see.
I’m very sorry for your loss. Baruch Dayan Ha’Emet.
I so agree. Life’s joys are so much richer and the sorrows diminished by the presence of our community.
The woman was the mother of a friend and her death is truly a loss. May her memory come to be for blessing.
I am lucky to be a member of just such a community.
Baruch Dayan Ha’Emet.
And we, your community, are blessed to have you.
Amen.
What a beautiful example of community and why having one makes such a difference in our lives.
It really does. I see it time and again. Both virtual and IRL. Community takes all forms and is such a blessing.
I live on the same street as my shul and never hesitate to go to evening minyan if the Rabbi or Cantor calls because they need a 10th person.